Dorothy Ann “Dottie” Pasley (née Riffel), of Moberly, Missouri, passed away peacefully on July 31, 2026, at the remarkable age of 103. Born on June 13, 1923, to the late Thomas Michael and Anna (Beuth) Riffel, Dottie was the eldest daughter of their five children and the deeply loved matriarch of her family. Throughout her extraordinary life, she was known for her sharp mind, creative spirit, strength, humor, and unwavering love for those around her.

Dottie graduated from Webster College, now Webster University, in 1945 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology. Her college yearbook affectionately referred to her as “Webster’s Wordsworth,” a title she spent her life endeavoring to live up to. In 1947, she began working as an editor and writer for Hallmark Cards. During the 1980s, Dottie enjoyed writing songs and commercials promoting St. Tammany Parish on the Northshore of New Orleans, where her late husband, James Logan Pasley, served as Director of Tourism. One of those songs was co-written with John Perkins, lead singer of the world-famous group The Crew-Cuts. She also wrote a song for the 1984 New Orleans World’s Fair that was played on 146 radio stations in promotion of the event.

Dottie was a longtime and dedicated volunteer with several St. Louis-area organizations, including Unity Health and St. Anthony’s Hospice House, St. John’s Mercy Hospice, St. Luke’s Hospital, and KUTO—Kids Under Twenty-One. Her writing and volunteer service often came together. After a young friend died while receiving hospice care in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Dottie wrote a song in her memory titled “Hold My Hand.” Dottie’s daughter-in-law, Phyllis Pasley, set the lyrics to music and performed the song at the groundbreaking ceremony for St. Anthony’s Hospice House on October 5, 1997. The de Greeff Hospice House opened in November 1998. Bookmarks featuring the lyrics to “Hold My Hand” were printed and widely distributed to promote the hospice house. The song was also recorded on cassette and sold as part of a combination greeting card, tape, and bookmark.

In another effort to live up to her “Wordsworth” title, Dottie began the arduous task of writing a book about an ancestor’s wagon journey to California during the Civil War, using a diary kept throughout the journey. When asked what the book would be called, she jokingly replied, “That Damn Book,” which was how she referred to it whenever she was working on it. Her son Jim, a collegiate history professor and family archivist, later took over the task of completing the book. He self-published it in 2019 under the title Matt: Warriors & Wagon Trains During the Civil War.

Dottie is survived by her children, Mary Suzanne Krueger (Bob Gleason) of Creve Coeur, Missouri; James Michael Pasley (Karen) of Lake Ozark, Missouri; and Thomas Andrew Pasley (Phyllis) of Maryland Heights, Missouri. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Scott Pasley (Elizabeth), James Pasley (Melissa), Richard Krueger, and Kelley Logan Krueger; and her great-grandchildren, Brendan Pasley, Andrew Pasley, Alecsander Pasley, Finley Toebben, and Addyson Pasley. Dottie was preceded in death by her beloved husband of nearly 40 years, James Pasley; her parents, Thomas Michael and Anna Beuth Riffel; her siblings, John Thomas

Riffel, Mary Elizabeth Jamboretz (Lawrence), Mildred Lucille Winscott (Raymond), and William Joseph Riffel (Ann); and her son-in-law, William Richard Krueger, husband of Mary and father of Richard and Kelley.

As the last surviving Riffel sibling and the matriarch of her family, Dottie leaves behind a legacy spanning more than a century. Her words, poetry, volunteer service, quick wit, and steadfast devotion to her family will continue to live through the many people whose lives she touched.

Visitation will be held at Ortmann Stipanovich Funeral Home, 12444 Olive Boulevard, Creve Coeur, MO, on Monday, August 10, 2026, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Incarnate Word Catholic Church, 13416 Olive Boulevard, Chesterfield, MO, on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, at 10:00 a.m., with interment immediately following at Bellerive Gardens Cemetery, 740 North Mason Road, St. Louis, MO.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or the American Heart Association.

Ortmann Stipanovich Funeral Hme
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